Latest from us

Destroying Secularism

Opinion | Articles | Cedric Prakash |

On 28 January 2025, the well-known Calcutta daily ‘The Telegraph’ carried an article entitled ‘Rub your eyes: Hindu Rashtra Constitution to be unveiled at Mahakumbh on Basant Panchami’. The seemingly innocuous inside-page article, speaks volumes not only .....

What is Education without Character?

Opinion | Articles | M L Satyan |

I was deeply disturbed when I watched a video in WhatsApp sent to me by a Professor in Kerala. A Plus One student in a government higher secondary school at Anakkara in Palakkad, Kerala, issued a death threat to a teacher. The student's anger was sparked .....

Ecumenism is non-negotiable

Opinion | Articles | Chhotebhai |

Ecumenism is non-negotiable When we say that something is non-negotiable, we mean that it cannot be compromised or watered down. Its message and mission must be forthright, sincere and enduring. Ecumenism, commonly understood as Christian Unity, comes .....

Walking Our Sacred Land: Renewing Indigenous Catholic Identity Amid Crisis

Opinion | Articles | James Pochury |

As excavators churn up the sacred soil of our ancestral lands, the stakes grow clearer: this is not just about losing territory but about the erasure of identity, culture, and faith. In the Northeast of India, where the earth carries the stories of our an.....

Celebrate Diversity

Opinion | Articles | Cedric Prakash |

It is late evening, the day after Uttarayan (15 January), traditionally called ‘vasi uttarayan’. It has been a dull, cloudy day; the wind has been fairly good though. Since yesterday thousands have been on building –tops, flying their kites and many other.....

Corporate Greed is not Nation building

Opinion | Articles | M L Satyan |

Today two industrialists have become the talk among the social media, both in India and in abroad. One person is Mr. N.R. Narayana Murthy of Infosys and the other person is Mr. S.N. Subrahmanyan of Larsen & Toubro (L&T). Months after Infosys co-founder N.....

The heat is now on Christians in Northeast India

Opinion | Articles | John Dayal |

India’s bishops, as much as its civil society, possibly missed an ominous warning in a report in the Kathmandu-based portal Himal Southasian about the growing support within tribal communities in the northeastern states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh for .....

School drop-out rate is a serious concern

Opinion | Articles | M L Satyan |

I had an opportunity to work with Functional Vocational Training and Research Society (FVTRS) from 2008 to 2014. The focus group of FVTRS was always school dropout students. Local NGOs became partners of FVTRS to provide skill training to school dropout s.....

"Celebrating 50 Years of Fr. Niphot’s Walk with Indigenous Wisdom"

Opinion | Articles | James Pochury |

For five decades, Fr. Niphot Thianwihan of Chiang Mai, Thailand, has walked side by side with the Indigenous Karen people, learning and living their profound wisdom. His journey resonates deeply with the realities of the tribes and Indigenous peoples of N.....

True Spirit of Christmas is to Give, Unite, and Hope

Opinion | Articles | Peter F Borges |

What does Christmas mean to you? Is it the sparkle of lights that adorn every street, the joyful hum of carols in the air, or the warm aroma of freshly baked cakes and sweets wafting through your home? Is it the excitement of unwrapping presents, the laug.....

A Reflection on Christmas

Opinion | Articles | M L Satyan |

Four months ago, I conducted a few sessions during a retreat held at Christeen Retreat Centre, Kottayam, Kerala. The participants consisted of a bishop, priests, nuns and lay Catholics. The topic that I dealt was: Cross, Death and Resurrection. I presente.....

Undoing the Culture of Silence

Opinion | Articles | James Pochury |

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." (Martin Luther King Jr.) When the youth of ICYM Northeast recently walked the hallowed grounds of Old Goa, touching the sacred relics of St. Francis Xavier and .....

Why is the Pope’s Visit to India thwarted?

Opinion | Articles | John Dayal |

The prophetic Monsignor, Benny D’Aguiar, wrote in The Examiner, India’s oldest newspaper which he edited, of Pope Paul VI’s visit to Mumbai in 1964 to attend the International Eucharistic Congress: “There has never been anything like it within living memo.....

CHRISTMAS: A History or a Mystery?

Opinion | Articles | Chhotebhai |

Where was the Holy Family when Herod ordered the killing of the children in Bethlehem? As we approach Christmas, this question began to haunt me. It forced me to look deeply into the infancy narratives in both Mathew’s and Luke’s gospels. As a layman with.....

Editorial

Care for the Creation

Before Pope Leo announced a five-week ‘Season of Care,' the world witnessed two instances of human suffering caused by the fury of nature. In the middle of August, Mon district headquarters in Nagaland were flooded, resulting in loss of lives and property.....

Why the proposed Amendment to the FCRA is matter of concern

The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 has created a sense fear among the Charitable and Social organisations. It is widely suspected that the bill was intended to target minority faith-based NGOs working for the poorest of the poor in.....

Football opened a window to an unknown Nation

One is not sure how many people in the world would have known or heard about a country by the name of Cabo Verde prior to the commencement of the FIFA World Cup 2026. But beginning with the night the former Portuguese colony created history by holding Spa.....

Culture of Presumption: Disservice to a Man who saw no Evil

In May 2026, a popular priest, Fr. Bomax Pereira, suffered a cardiac arrest, and he was treated at the Goa Medical College. He was in the intensive care unit for a few days before he finally gave in and left while still in the ICU. Fr. Bolmax was one prie.....

Thank you Kerala, for keeping the Spirit of India alive

The most notable bright spot of the 2026 assembly elections is clearly the manner in which voters in Kerala exercised their franchise; Not because they voted any particular party to power, but because they avoided voting along communal lines. The victorie.....

Some Accountability for Social Media platforms

In March, a Los Angeles court hearing a petition filed by a 20-year-old woman, Kaley, who was a minor at the time of filing the case, held Meta and Google guilty of coming up with attention-grabbing applications, resulting in minor addiction to YouTube an.....

Sanju Samson's Silent Prayer was the Loudest Thanks giving

In a country where cricket is not just a game but considered next only to religion, a spectacle unfolded on March 1 inside the mammoth and iconic Eden Gardens cricket stadium in Kolkata, where the Indian and West Indies teams played the last of the Super.....

Stooping Beyond a Limit

When Himanta Biswa Sarma exited his parent party, the Indian National Congress, in 2015 and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, not too many eyebrows were raised since such leapfrogging from one political party to the other was nothing new in Indian politi.....

The Culture of othering is an unhealthy trend

A German Lutheran pastor, Martin Niemöller, was against the Communist ideology and also against Semitism. His distaste for them made him a natural ally and supporter of Rudolf Hitler. When Hitler ultimately assumed power and insisted on the supremacy of t.....

Persecutions in the land of Tagore, Vivekananda, and Gandhi

India is fortunate to have given birth to three outstanding sons, Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda, and Mahatma Gandhi, who inspired generations not only in India but across the world. Apart from their liberal thinking, their thoughts on religious f.....

The determination was written on every Indian player’s face

On the intervening night of November 2nd and 3rd, the Indian women’s cricket team created history by winning the ICC Women’s World Cup for the first time at the DY Patil stadium in Navi Mumbai. They defeated South Africa, a team dubbed by many cricketing.....

Zubeen Garg unites people even in his death

Many ordinary people who are not connected to music and art might not have even heard of Zubeen Garg, despite being an iconic artist and a person who cared for others. However, after his unfortunate and untimely demise on September 19, 2025, social media.....

Previous Articles

What is Education without Character?

Opinion | Articles | M L Satyan

I was deeply disturbed when I watched a video in WhatsApp sent to me by a Professor in Kerala. A Plus One student in a government higher secondary school at Anakkara in Palakkad, Kerala, issued a death threat to a teacher. The student's anger was sparked .....

Moving Back to the Middle Ages

Opinion | Articles | Thomas Menamparampil

Tagore dreamt of an India where the citizens would have the courage to hold their “heads high”. Martin Luther King dreamt of a homeland that would give equal respect to every citizen. An Iranian composer longs for a civilized culture in her country where.....

NECCOD huddled into a three Day Spiritual exercise

Current Updates | NE Brief | NECARF Rep

After being deprived of the opportunity to come together for social or spiritual get-together for two long years, members of the North East Catholic Community, Delhi (NECCOD), took full advantage of the relaxations allowed by the government following impr.....

Constitutional Challenges!

Opinion | Articles | Cedric Prakash

In a short time from now, the Election Commission of India (ECI) is expected to announce the General Elections 2024. The citizens of India are aware that this is a watershed moment for the country and the outcome of the elections will certainly determine .....

Priesthood is a Challenge in the 21st Century

Opinion | Articles | Joseph M Thohrii

“A priest is the greatest gift God can give to a family” Don Bosco When we hear about priests or priesthood, we naturally think of a person or persons of dedicated life and service. In the pages of the New Testament, the Church not onl.....

Fratelli Tooti

Opinion | Articles | Chhotebhai

Had I entered a Spelling Bee contest I would have failed miserably, considering that I have mis-spelt the title of Pope Francis’ encyclical “Fratelli Tutti” that he wrote during the Covid pandemic. Unlike previous Popes, he wrote in Italian, not Latin. Se.....

Catholic Church Tithes and Collections

Opinion | Articles | Benjamin Chang

Catholic Church is a Universal Church and the Indulgence (collection of money) was practiced in some parts of Germany. Thanks to Martin Luther, a Catholic monk for going against the Catholic Church. It was his protests that led to Counter Reformation in t.....

The Blame Game Continues

Opinion | Articles | Chhotebhai

The Blame Game Continues A highly respected and erudite clergyman from Kerala sends me his articles. Of late he has made three claims: 1. The Jews killed Jesus 2. Priests have always manipulated people to commit violent acts, justified in the nam.....

Unceasing Prayer

Opinion | People's Edit | Michael Lunminthang

Unceasing Prayer The COVID situation gave us different experiences which we might not have come across in normal circumstances. In spite of the unending fear around us, to my surprise, I find myself contemplating more on ‘Prayer’ in my little ways t.....

The Holy Eucharist is Central to the Catholic Faith

Opinion | People's Edit | G.L. Khing

One of the most fundamental teachings and practices of the Catholic Church is the Holy Eucharist. The Church derives its life from the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the “source and summit” of the Catholic faith because it is the sacrament in which Jesus giv.....

Custodians of what Tradition?

Opinion | Articles | Chhotebhai

The magician was dressed in .flowing robes. He had his back to the audience. He claimed to be an alchemist that could change lead into gold – transubstantiation. In between his secret mumbo-jumbo he would suddenly turn around to face his audience, raise h.....

Current Updates

Bishop Albert Hemrom Appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Guwahati

Articles | NECARF Rep |

New Delhi, 16 July 2026 (CCBI): Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Albert Hemrom (57), Bishop of Dibrugarh, as the Coadjutor Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Guwahati, Assam. The appointment was made public on Thursday, 16 July 2026......

History and Spread of Christianity in Arunachal Pradesh

Articles | Editorial team |

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Arunachal Pradesh, located in the eastern Himalayas, is one of India’s most culturally diverse and geographically isolated states. Formerly known as the North East Frontier Agency (NEFA), it became a Union Territory in 1972 and attained full statehood in.....

ICF Writes to the President of India

Articles | Editorial team |

Hon’ble Smt Draupadi Murmu, PRESIDENT OF INDIA Rashtrapati Bhawan New Delhi presidentofindia@rb.nic.in 31st December 2025 Respected Rashtrapatiji, Sub: Christmas attacks on Christians Namaskar! I respectfully place before you some of the.....

Attacks aginst Christians increased by 500% since 2014: Rights Groups

Articles | Editorial team |

Attacks Against Christians Increased by 500% Since 2014: Rights Groups New Delhi: On November 4, Christian rights activists assembled at the Press Club of India to release a report about an alarming and sustained annual surge in incidents of violence a.....

An MSMHC Nun from Mizoram did the North East Proud

Articles | NECARF Rep |

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October 14, 2025: Sr Rose Paite, an MSMHC nun from Mizoram, received the prestigious National Award from the Catholic Mental Health Ministry (CMHM) at the World Mental Health Day Conference in Kerala. The prestigious award was handed over to the recipie.....

Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez’s address

Articles | Editorial team |

Synodality: Why No, and Why Yes Some have hoped that our new pope would ease up a little on this matter of synodality. Instead, Pope Leo has expressed a strong desire to continue along the path of synodality. For example: “Synodality becomes a mindset, .....

Opinion

Scribes Scribble Scrabble Scramble

Articles | Chhotebhai |

Pardon my penchant for words. On a more serious note, like a moth to the flame, I have a fatal attraction to the Word, the Word made flesh, Jesus, the Word, and “the Word was God” (Jn 1:10). I had been mulling over these thoughts from the 5th September wh.....

A Life without Reserve

Articles | Benjamin Chang |

The life of Lt. Rev. Fr. Mathew Keemattam stands as a luminous witness to missionary zeal, pastoral charity, and unwavering fidelity to God and His people. Belonging to the Diocese of Kohima, Rev. Fr. Mathew Keemattam offered the best years of his life,.....

Black Theology Is an Outcome of Black Experience

Articles | Yumri Taipodia |

In between 1517–1840, around twenty million blacks were cruelly captured in Africa. By ship, they were transported to America and sold into slavery. It was a profitable income for the traders. While crossing the Atlantic Ocean, many captives died.....

Care for the Creation

Articles | John S. Shilshi |

Before Pope Leo announced a five-week ‘Season of Care,' the world witnessed two instances of human suffering caused by the fury of nature. In the middle of August, Mon district headquarters in Nagaland were flooded, resulting in loss of lives and property.....

Two strategic pullbacks by the BJP

Articles | John Dayal |

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s two pullbacks in August of high-profile bills it had every intention of passing may have seemed a rainbow in a sky otherwise made dark and gloomy by unabated acts of violence and systemic persecution of Christians in sta.....

I AM MALALA!

Articles | Cedric Prakash |

I am Malala: I was born on 12 July 1997 as Malala Yousafzai in the Swat District of Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. My family was lower–middle class. It was certainly not easy to make both ends meet. My father was an educationist and.....